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"So what happened, Leah?" I said. "Did your hell dimension kick you out? Not nearly the badass you thought you were?"
Jesse blinked. Then sputtered a laugh. "I beg your pardon?"
I pushed onto my elbows. "Did you really think I wouldn't recognize you?"
A pause. He tilted his head, considering, then said, "Actually, I'm surprised I pulled it off this long. But I shouldn't be. No offense. You're a great kid. Just none too quick on the uptake."
I started to rise. The hammer readied itself to strike and I stopped.
"Good girl," Jesse--Leah--said. "I wouldn't want to mess up that pretty face. You grew up nice, kiddo. If I were a guy, I'd totally go for you. But I'm not, which was part of the problem. It would have made things so much easier."
"Would have made what easier?"
"Oooh, do I get to reveal my nefarious motives now? I love this part. Okay, cue the sinister music. The villain is about to tell all."
She stepped toward me. While it was clearly still Jesse's body, my fevered mind saw Leah.
"It started in my childhood. My brother used to torment me ..." She frowned, tilting her head. "No, I did the tormenting. Huh. That doesn't make nearly as good a story."
"Can we get on with it?" I said. "I'm dying here."
"Oh, it's all about you, isn't it? You aren't going to die, Savannah. Well, I hope not, because I'm really kinda fond of you. Always was. As I recall, you're the one who snubbed--"
"You poisoned the cookies."
"So you figured that out? Good girl. Probably thought it was that evil commune, didn't you? Nope. The cookies were just convenient--like the commune itself."
"You knew I'd find the Santeria and think it suggested something supernatural was going on in Columbus, when it was just a New Age cult guy practicing what he considered a cool religion."
"Pretty clever, huh? The cookies were just a bonus. See, to zap your spellcasting, the poison has to be administered slowly, which would have been much easier if ol' Jesse could have just seduced you and popped in a needle now and then when you were sleeping. But it was clear from the start that wasn't happening. So on to contingency plan A. Poison something you were munching on. Start draining your spell power while being taken into your confidence, lowering your defenses on all fronts. First part worked smashingly. Second, not so much."
She was standing so close now that I could reach out and grab her foot. Yank her down. And I would have, if I wasn't more likely to puke on her than punch her. Just keep her talking. God knows, Leah loved to talk.
"You weren't interested in poor Jesse as any kind of partner. First you team up with the detective. A human? Never thought I'd see the day. You used to have nothing but contempt for humans. A girl after my own heart. So I get rid of the human--"
"You did kill Michael."
She sighed. "You're interrupting. Fine, let's get this over with. My list of crimes against humanity. I didn't kill Ginny and Brandi, but you already knew that. Gotta give you credit, kiddo--I wasn't sure you'd figure that one out. I was actually kind of proud of you, putting together the pieces. Had some trouble with the follow-through, though, didn't you? Couldn't bear to take little motherless Kayla away from her grandma. Nothing says a killer can't be a good mama. You know that from experience."
I opened my mouth.
Leah cut me off. "Sorry, got off track there. I was listing my crimes, wasn't I? Killed Claire--that was the setup to get you on the case, so Jesse could get close. Didn't kill Tiffany. Figured the twit offed herself when you started sniffing around. Killed the security guard and Cody, and, yes, killed Michael. He was in the way. Added a nice twist to the case, too. And a serious bonus--Jesse swoops in to save the day, bringing you two closer. Then who shows up? Adam Vasic. After I timed it just right, killing Claire when I knew Paige, Lucas, and Adam would be away for the week, he has to cut out of his conference early. I remember Adam, you know. That last day at the compound. You were already giving him big puppy dog eyes. Too cute. Between you and me, though, what's cute at twelve is kind of sad at twenty-one."
"Go to hell. Oh, sorry. Go back to hell."
She laughed. "No, thanks. Do you know how tough it is to get out of there? And that's just escaping. Then I needed to track down a necromancer who owed me a favor and use my poltergeisting skills to torture him until he agreed to get me into a new body. Which is not easy either, let me tell you. And now that I'm here, I intend to stay, which is where you come in."
"To do what? Cast a super Krazy Glue spell to keep you in Jesse's body?"
"Um, no. Sorry. Once again, it seems, it's not about you--it's about Mom, who is one relentless bounty-hunting bitch, dead set on bouncing my ass back into my hell dimension."
"You want me to ask her to back off?" I laughed. "Not likely."
"Um, no. Wrong again. I don't need you to ask her anything. Your only job here is to play daughter-in-distress. You've had some practice at it, I'm sure. You call Mom. She comes running. I cut her a deal--if I get to stay in the living world so do you. I'll release you, with the name of the poison, which will be the only way any doctor can treat you in time. Haul me off to hell ... and you die a slow, painful death." She grinned. "A brilliant scheme, if I do say so--"
She stopped as I disappeared under a blur spell. She swung the hammer, but I'd caught her off guard. I scrambled out of the way, then leaped to my feet.
I won't say I ran--it took all my power just to lurch, and even then my brain kept screaming at me to slow down, conserve energy to cast, not escape. I ducked into an aisle, then another, as Leah whipped who-knew-what at my blur. Finally, when I was far enough ahead, I slid into a shadowy corner and hunkered down.
